


Un-bee-lievable

by Theonewhosawitall



Series: Kwamis and Their Charges [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bee Chloé Bourgeois, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, F/M, Fox Alya Césaire, Friendship, Good Chloé Bourgeois, Hero squad, Hurt/Comfort, Jade Turtle Nino Lahiffe, Matchmaking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-21 22:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13750107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall
Summary: When Chloe refuses to give back her miraculous Ladybug turns to the only Gaurdian left for his decision. Nino. Being the only one who knows who every other hero is is hard enough, but having to take away their powers would be worse. Instead, Nino gives her a challenge. Become a better person and you can keep Pollen. But cause three more akumas and Pollen returns to the box.Trained alongside Rena, the two of them set out on two missions. Make Bee a better person, and get Chat Noir and Ladybug to realise they're in love.How hard could that be?





	1. Chapter 1

Wayzz hummed happily to himself as he floated above the steaming mug of hot chocolate to drop in the last marshmallow. It fell into the brown depths with a plop before floating back to the top, trailing white at its edges at it immediately began to dissolve. Wayzz chuckled and tugged the sleeves of his pale green knitted jumper to pull them back into place. Marinette had been kind enough to make a replacement for the original orange jumper she made him, when they realised it couldn't fit over his shell. This one had a hole in the back for the shell to sit in. Right now though, he had the steam of the hot chocolate to keep him warm.  
The mug was taller and wider than the kwami so he didn't dare lift it. Besides he had to carry his own thimble full of green tea back to Nino's room before his parents woke up.  
It had become a routine really. When Nino's alarm went off Wayzz got up and turned it off and got his clothes together while Nino trudged to the bathroom to shower and wake up a little more. By the time he came back his kwami had prepared everything he needed to remember, and all Nino had to do was lift Wayzz up and slip him into his top pocket before setting off to school. It was a way of easing his worry, so he had one less thing to worry about while still training.  
Those were school day though.

Today was Saturday.

On Saturdays the alarm would go off and Wayzz would turn it off, leaving Nino to rest a little while longer. Then Wayzz would make tea and hot chocolate for their weekly catch ups. Yes they spent all day everyday together, but for an hour every Saturday morning, they dropped training and school problems, and instead chatted about his friends, his worries, things that made him laugh this week, and made time to practice their record scratching performances.  
Wayzz liked the routine of it. He liked how easily it all seemed to fall into place. Master Fu and he had drunk tea together every day, but Saturday was Nino's last day of a long week, and they just didn’t have time for tea every day. Which was why Wayzz cherished Saturday mornings.  
He set his tea down on the table that held his gramophone and moved over to where his master slept. Carefully, Wayzz nudged him awake, and Nino rolled over to reach his glasses to the kwami wasn't just a green blop.

"Is it morning already?" He groaned.

Wayzz nodded, "Yes it is. Rise and shine!"

Nino's feet hit the floor and he felt exhaustion clatter through him like a rain stick turned upside down. He groaned softly as he stumbled out to find his hot chocolate. When he returned he had gained a brown liquid moustache.

"What time did we get in last night?" He asked.

"Midnight. You were right, drunks roaming the streets really did make it harder to get home. Every twenty feet there was another incident a hero needed to stop," Wayzz explained.

With his free hand, Nino batted the air. "Ah doesn't matter. They stopped, and Ti- Tikki's alright," the last felt syllables slightly merged together as Nino yawned.

Wayzz nodded in agreement, "A good day, all in all."

Nino took a seat in his chair by the gramophone. They had taken to gathering around it on Saturdays. There was no particular reason why, they just had.

"A busy one today, for Marinette. She's probably stitching Tikki a whole new winter wardrobe right now!" Nino chuckled.

"As I warned her before, kwamis cannot wear too much as it will damage her powers when she transforms," Wayzz said.

"Have you told Plagg that? If we tell Plagg that maybe he'll stop getting parts of himself stuck in things," Nino smirked.

"Plagg is older than I am, I believe he knows almost as much as I do," Wayzz smiled.

"And yet he is far less wise at times," Nino said.

"It is who he is. He cannot change that," Wayzz shrugged.

"He doesn't want to."

"Would you want him to?"

"Nah, Plagg's cool. A little grumpy and cunning, but cool. Plus Tikki can keep him in check if we need her to," Nino said.

Wayzz chuckled this time, "Yes, she can."

Tikki had recently come down with a fever. Being a ladybug, she was susceptible to the cold, and recently Marinette had been forced to leave the warmth of the bakery (objectively the best and warmest place for Tikki to be) with nothing but her jumper for warmth. Akumas had no consideration for other people. Fortunately for Marinette - who had panicked at having no one to help her - Nino had started learning how to heal kwamis when Wayzz fell from the record while dancing and sprained his fin. It wasn't as hard as he thought it was going to be, and he found himself enjoying helping other kwamis more than the rest of his training.

"Are you going to bring the supplies to the picnic?" Wayzz asked.

"Of course. I can't let Plagg get hurt by Tikki again," Nino chuckled.

"She's not the problem. Trixx and Plagg wind each other up. Always have," Wayzz said.

"And yet Chat and Rena are best friends," Nino chuckled again, sipping his drink.

"Its an odd thing, but it tends to happen," Wayzz nodded.

"Opposites attract," Nino agreed.

Their day could have continued being happy and lazy and warm in Nino's room while the world continued to ice over outside, but Chat Noir had over ideas.  
Sick of having to get up and open the window every time they came to call, Nino left his window unlocked. Chat Noir yanked it open and slipped into the room now, making Nino grumble in protest. Chat slammed the door behind him and grinned at Nino.

"There’s my favourite tortoiseshell!"

"I'm not a cat or a tortoise," Nino grumbled, placing his drink on the side for safety’s sake.

"I'll work on it," Chat shrugged.

He hurried over and leapt into the bed beside Nino, gathering the blankets around him to steal Nino's heat, despite Nino practically yelling for him to get the hell away from him. Nino didn't like being cold. Shoving Chat away viciously, Nino gathered the blankets back to him.

"Don't be mean! I'm _freezing!"_ Chat whined.

"I don't care! You're interrupting tea time!" Nino huffed.

"Its cold though!" He whined.

"I know its cold, and if this was Ladybug I'd be a little more forgiving given how sensitive to cold she and - more importantly - Tikki is, but you and Plagg are find in the cold. Cats are outdoor creatures after all!" Nino argued, viciously.

"I know, I've just spent an hour out there checking wheel hatches for sleeping cats, so they don’t get run over," Chat sighed.

Nino's heart went out to his best friend behind his mask. He was protective of all the strays in the city. They had no one else who loved them, so he did. He didn’t have anyone who love him, so they did. Nino rolled his eyes. He didn’t like the cold, but he loved Adrien. Begrudgingly he raised an arm to throw some blanket over Chat. At the same time, Chat let his transformation fall so Adrien appeared in his place and Plagg tumbled forwards, landing beside him.

"Ready for training?" He asked.

Nino had given Chat one job. One. Chose someone _worthy_ of a kwami because Marinette was deadly serious when she said the moment Alya got her hands on Trixx there would be no parting them again. All he had to do was find someone who would be able to stand up for the people of Paris and give back the miraculous afterwards. The only person Nino could think of was Rose, but he knew how uncomfortable she was when it came to lying. She was terrible at it. But other than Rose there was plenty of people to choose from.

Chloe Bourgeois was not one of them.

When she had begged Ladybug to let her keep Pollen, Nino didn’t think she'd fall for it. But Marinette still ached with guilt at taking Trixx away from Alya, and she knew the pain of missing Tikki just as Chat knew the ache of missing Plagg. Maybe it was the begging look in her eye, or the guilt for Alya, but for some reason, Ladybug asked Carapace what he thought. Being Nino, Carapace couldn’t say no. Which meant now Ladybug felt extra guilty about taking Trixx from Rena. So now Nino had given him back.

"Don't you think its weird that you and Rena get along so well when Plagg and Trixx don’t? Or that Rena and Bee get along even though -" Nino stopped when he remembered Adrien didn't know.

Curiosity was a flaw of Chats. It beat him as easily as it would a regular cat. "Even though?"

Nino shrugged, "They're so different."

Adrien just chuckled. He had no idea who Rena Rouge or Ladybug actually were, just as Ladybug had no idea who Queen Bee or Chat Noir actually were. Only Nino - only Carapace - knew who every hero truly was, because only he could heal their kwamis. Nino knew everything. That's why it all baffled him so much. Since Rena Rouge and Queen Bee needed to practice and control their powers better, they started practicing together. Training together. Spending time together had made them get along, but they were competitive. Rena's super jump had crashed enough times to make people uncertain of her safety. Queen Bee on the other hand broke so many windows with her yo-yo that even Chat had began to doubt his choices. Ladybug was worried they would put themselves in danger by revealing themselves, so Hawkmoth would come after them in order to get to her and Chat. And it would work. Marinette would never let Alya remain in danger, and she was sure Chat couldn’t leave whoever Bee was.  
Quite honestly it would have been better to keep the kwamis hidden away so only she, Nino and Chat could use them. That’s why Wayzz devised a time table to set aside time for Ladybug and Chat to help Bee and Rena learn to control themselves. It also gave them time to learn how to control their own powers. Carapace learned more in the two and a half hours they spent training than any other time.

"Think I can get Ladybug to kiss me this time?" Adrien asked.

"Well you've failed every attempt you tried before-" Nino began.

"Hey, she kissed me when Dark Cupid got me!" Adrien argued.

"Which you don’t remember!" Plagg chimed in.

"But she still kissed me," Adrien pointed out.

"And she hasn’t kissed you since despite your many _many_ attempts, so, I'd say maybe zero," Nino declared.

"What do you think Wayzz? Can Ladybug and I finally get the fairy tale romance we deserve?" Adrien smirked.

Wayzz took a sip of his tea, swallowed it calmly, and raised his head to answer Adrien, solemnly. "When you find her real name, you will find your real love."

Nino smirked knowingly while Adrien frowned, baffled by the wisdom that came from the little turtle. Plagg on the other hand just rolled his eyes.

"You sound like a fortune cookie," he said.

"Don’t be mean just because you never get a good fortune Plagg," Wayzz responded calmly.

"Any fortune that ends with cheese is a good fortune, and I don’t need a cookie to tell me that," Plagg huffed.

"But you'd take one anyway, for Tikki, right?" Adrien smirked.

"Shut up," Plagg huffed but there was definitely a tinge of pink under his cheek fur.

"Finish your drink and wrap up warm. Its cold out," Adrien said to Nino.

"I wish I had my jumper," Plagg grumbled.

"Did Ma- Ladybug make you one too?" Wayzz asked.

"She did. Its green and got cheese on the front and its _warm,"_ Plagg said proudly.

"I must admit I'm not looking forward to removing this. Its cold outside and I dislike the cold. At least you’re warm blooded," Wayzz said.

"Drink your tea Wayzz, that'll warm you up," Nino said.

Nino left Adrien to steal the heat of the blankets, to get dressed in the bathroom. By the time he returned Wayzz had taken off his jumper and was waiting with Chat Noir, ready to go. Nino pulled his woolly hat down over his ears and pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"If it snows I'm leaving you all to suffer!" He warned.

"Baby," Chat smirked.

Nino blew a raspberry at him. Chats opinion did not change.

Meanwhile across town Chloe was preparing for her training day alone, like always. Well, almost alone. Chloe watched as Pollen lapped at the residual honey still coating her little yellow fingers happily. Chloe had not had Pollen long, but she already knew this was the one and only thing she would fight tooth and nail to keep. She was her only link to people who seemed to like her, even when no one else did. She was going to protect this bee if it killed her.

"All clean?" Chloe asked.

Pollen smacked her lips and buzzed happily. "All clean!"

"Then how about we make you the prettiest kwami in the city?" Chloe asked.

"With the puff box?!" Pollen gasped eagerly.

"The blush, yeah," Chloe nodded.

"Yeah!" Pollen leapt to her feet and zipped over to the make up box on the windowsill.

Chloe hurried after the excited little bee and tried pick up the box despite her buzzing about it eagerly. Chloe batted her away with her finger tips and picked up the box. She set up the make-up in front of the mirror, and lifted Pollen onto the stand that the ballet dancer in her music box once stood. Pollen balanced there delicately for a moment, giggling. The buzz in her voice between giggles made Chloe smile. Pollen liked to be pampered. She gently powdered Pollen, letting her get covered in the dust like it was genuine pollen. A pollinated Pollen. Then she tied a pale pink satin bow around her neck to sit on her chest. Chloe held up her camera to take a selfie with Pollen, who nuzzled in close against her as the camera snapped a shot.  
Chloe had learned the hard way that the kwami didn't appear in pictures, but Carapace suggested drawing her into the pictures, and showed her some pictures he'd taken on his tablet that he'd drawn Wayzz into as a little green felt tip blob. To be fair to him though, his artistic skills had greatly improved since he started practicing drawing.

"Perhaps that boy can help you. The artist. What's his name? Nathan?" Pollen asked.

"Nathanael?" Chloe asked.

Pollen beamed. "That's him!"

Chloe's face fell. "He wouldn't help me."

"Why not?" Pollen asked.

Chloe didn't answer. Pollen got the message. Nino had warned her about Chloe’s reputation. He had also said that this was a trial basis and if Chloe’s behaviour didn't improve he'd take the miraculous away (although Pollen wasn't convinced he was strong enough to carry it out). Pollen needed to help Chloe redeem herself, and it seemed to get harder every day. Chloe was confident in her hateful side, because love had never been kind to her.  
Nathanael was another mistake she had to fix.

"You're doubting yourself again, aren’t you?" Pollen asked.

Chloe bowed her head and still didn’t answer. Pollen fluttered upwards to nuzzle against her neck gently. She sat on her shoulder close to her ear, so her low voice was all Chloe could focus on.

"You've got to stop doubting yourself. This is a great responsibility Chloe. One that is yours now. No one can but Carapace can take it from you. All you need to do is prove to him that you’re worthy," Pollen insisted.

"But I'm not worthy," Chloe muttered.

"You are! With a little perseverance and determination, you can do it. I believe in you, but you need to believe in yourself more!" Pollen urged.

Chloe shook her head low. "But I'm nothing like Ladybug..."

"Good," Pollen said firmly. "We already have a Ladybug. She hasn't managed to beat Hawkmoth yet. Maybe we need someone with more of a sting to beat him. Someone less afraid to hold back. Someone strong enough to be good when it means being tough. Someone more like you."

"Ladybug wouldn't like that," Chloe sighed.

"You say you don’t care what anyone thinks about you, but you care so much more than you want to. I’ve known you a month and I know that much," Pollen said.

“No, I don’t! I don't care if anyone likes me," Chloe argued.

"But they'd like you more anyway, if you were kinder," Pollen insisted.

Chloe scoffed in disgust, "Like Marinette?"

"Carapace says you have to prove your behaviour is better before we can stay together. If Marinette is kind to people, you need to be like her," Pollen argued.

"But she's such a goody-goody!"

" _Listen to yourself Chloe!_ You need to be a goody-goody too! Why are you letting someone you claim to hate get in the way of you being a hero?! You can be a good person if you try Chloe. I know you can. Please just... try..."

Pollen’s voice dropped as Chole’s head lowered and her wrist moved to her misting up eyes. the movement meant Pollen had to move away from her shoulder, but she still hovered nearby. Chloe’s voice cracked as she tried to sniff it away, but it wouldn’t go. Pollen’s tiny paw on her cheek was little help.

“It’s too hard Pollen. She’d never believe me if I said I wanted to be friends. Sabrina doesn’t even believe it anymore… None of my friends will help me because… Because I don’t have any,” Chloe sniffed.

“Hey, hey now don’t cry! You just put so much effort into that eyeliner and it’s not dry yet!” Pollen said quietly.

“If I lose you I’ll lose them, and I’ll have no one Pollen! No one!” Chole sobbed.

“Well you’re not going to lose me Chloe. We’re going to work together to make you be a better person, and then Marinette will believe you, and you’ll show Ladybug that you’re worthy,” Pollen promised, determinedly.

“You said I only had to prove myself to Carapace!” Chloe whined.

“You only _have_ to prove yourself to Carapace. you want to prove yourself to Ladybug. and we will. Together. because that’s what friends do,” Pollen promised.

Chloe rose her head in surprise, revealing the puffy scarlet of her usually bluebell eyes, and the streaks of black make up melting down her cheeks. She stared at the bee above her, shocked. “Y-you wanna be my friend?”

“of course I do Chole. I know what you’re like deep down. I’ve been in your head remember? You have a good heart, even if the walls around it are cold. but we can fix that. together. I promise you honey, I’m not going anywhere,” Pollen promised softly.

Pollen floated forwards to place her forehead against Chloe’s. Chloe closed her eyes as Pollen did and managed to give a shaky laugh. That was a surprise to anyone who heard it. Chloe hadn’t found it in her to laugh after crying since she was a toddler. Usually she still screamed until her lungs gave out, even after the sobbing stopped.

“Thanks Polly,” she sniffed.

“Anytime honey. Now let’s fix up that make up,” Pollen said.

“I thought you said no one cares what I look like?”

Chloe remembered their first akuma together. Pollen had practically screamed at her and dragged her out of the window almost before transforming her.

“They don’t. not when there’s an akuma attack. But you care, so I care. Now here. let me clean this off, and then you can reapply when the redness goes down, and we’ll go meet the others for training,” Pollen explained, calmly.

Chole’s chest heaved. “Ladybug… I bet she never broke down like this. I’m so pathetic…”

Pollen stood in Chloe’s palm to stop her hiding her face again. “Actually, I hear from Tikki that she did panic before her first akuma.”

“really?!” Chloe gasped.

“yes. And then she messed up and panicked again. no one’s perfect Chloe, honey, especially not first time,” Pollen promised.

“she saved my life first time…”

“So repay her now. Bee a hero. Bee my hero.”

Chloe was quiet as Pollen gently scrubbed at the make up on her cheeks with the wipes she’d picked up from the table top. It was Pollen’s turn to pamper Chloe. To make her feel better. In all her years of monthly manicures, weekly hair care, and spa weekends, this was still the only time pampering made her feel better. It wasn’t because of what was happening, but because of who was doing it. Slowly, Chloe was figuring that out.

"I’ll call Nathanael after training. Maybe Rena’ll help me figure out how to make things up to him,” she said, finally.

Pollen’s fuzzy face broke into a bright beam of a smile. “that’s the spirit! We’ll show that Carapace, won’t we?!”

“Yeah, we’ll wax that turtle’s shell!” Chole grinned back.

Pollen wasn’t fully sure what she meant, but it sounded more like Chloe’s usual self, so she beamed back proudly. “Yeah we will!”

Pollen’s beam filled Chloe with honey. She loved this little bug so much that she wanted to prove she could be a better person. Not for Carapace, or even for Ladybug, but for Pollen. To be worthy of her. it was going to be hard, but by God it would be worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

A blur of orange and white came crashing down towards Chat, landing in front of him, barely stabilising in time to stop from falling and accidentally pushing him off the rooftop. If it weren't for Carapace pushing him forward to regain his footing, he would have gone crashing into the street below.

"Hey! Trixx says you’re a loser!” Rena beamed.

Even despite the near-death experience, Chat grinned at her. “Hello to you too Miss Rouge.”

“You seen old bumble-bum? I wanna start training now!” Rena fidgeted eagerly.

“Give her time. she’s probably a very busy bee,” Chat smiled.

“That’s pawful,” Rena groaned.

“don’t you mean clawful?” he teased.

“that’s enough puns dudes,” Carapace groaned.

Rena turned to face him and suddenly her expression filled with concern. “You ok there Carapace? You’re looking a little green around the gills."

Carapace glared at her with the plainest expression she had ever seen him wear in her life. Chat, however, flashed another bright grin at her.

“Turtles don’t have gills," he said.

“really?!” Rena asked keenly.

“You’re so gull-a-gill,” chat beamed.

Rena groaned like she was dying inside. “I can’t believe I just walked into that one. What a mean Trixx!”

Carapace groaned into his hands. “Someone save me from this nightmare."

As if summoned by that single remark, Ladybug came sweeping into view, and landed on the edge of the rooftop without as much as a stumble. Ladybug wandered across the edge of the rooftop like an expert on a tightrope.

“Turtles don’t have gills Rena. They’re reptiles. They have lungs,” she explained, firmly.

Rena laid a hand on her hip and shifted her weight to one side, as Chat Noir hooked his arms over his staff that stretched across his shoulders. Both of them shared a smirk before turning back to Ladybug.

“Well aren’t you a smart little book bug?!” Rena grinned.

“I’d give you the air in my lungs for one kiss,” Chat purred.

Ladybug snorted. “Don’t hold your breath.”

“How could I? you take it away,” Chat purred again.

Rena howled with laughter and high fived him. Ladybug rolled her eyes. Not so very long-ago Chat Noir had had his tongue pierced. As Adrien he kept it subtle and hidden unless his father was advertising new ranges of jewellery. As Chat Noir, he kept it green and bright and wore it with pride, because it was the only thing that came close to getting Ladybug to admit she thought he was cute. Now he blew a raspberry at Rena, Ladybug was reminded of how attractive she had thought he was when she first saw it, and she blushed under her mask.

Carapace thumping her shoulder made her jump. “Thanks for trying LB.”

She glanced from him back to Chat. He grinned at her, so the little green dot on his tongue shone like a pearl in an oyster. Ladybug shook her head urgently. It was getting hard to concentrate with him around.

She turned away from him and called out towards the rest of Paris, “Where’s Queen B got to?”

“I’m right here!" A streak of yellow and black came sweeping through the air, somersaulted, and landed on the rooftop. Then she tripped on her yoyo, stumbled forward, and Rena had to dart forward to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Thanks," Bee grumbled, dusting herself down.

"Don’t worry, I'm used to people falling at my feet," Rena winked.

Ladybug caught Carapace's raised eyebrow and cleared her throat, "I'm used to roses falling at mine."

"They match your outfit so well," Chat purred.

"I wasn’t thinking of you," Ladybug sneered.

"That's odd because I only think of you," Chat winked.

Carapace rose his eyes to the skies. Being the only one who could see the love square meant suffering his idiot friends being in love and not noticing. It was starting to ache. Everyone knew how bright and confident Ladybug was, but Marinette was shy and stumbled over her sentences as much as her feet. Everyone knew Adrien was this sweet, serious, quiet boy who posed with children and lollipops, but Chat Noir was pun-tastic and playful and flirty and completely opposite. It was easy to understand how they didn’t recognise their crushes in their other forms, but it was so goddamn frustrating to see his friends - the people he cared about and wanted to be happy - unable to find each other even when they were side by side.

"Carapace?" Rena nudged him gently.

He looked up in surprise. "Yeah?"

"Seriously, are you ok dude?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he forced a smile.

Bee cleared her throat uncertainly. Everyone was here, ready with the help she needed but she didn’t want to say something too honest about herself.  
She didn’t want them to know how unworthy she was.

"Go on honey, you got this!" Pollen encouraged in the back of her mind.

"Carapace?" Bee asked, her voice shaking

Carapace rose an eyebrow. Chloe was always strong and determined. She knew her mind better than anyone else he ever met and wasn't afraid to show it. Queen Bee though, Queen Bee was afraid. She was fearful and uncertain, and she didn’t try to hide it. People were very different when they had masks to hide behind. Not Alya though. Alya never seemed to change. Nino found himself wondering if he did.

"What’s up Bee?" He asked.

"You know those photos of your kwami you showed me? What’s his face, um... Wazz?" She asked uncertainly.

Carapace smiled. At least she tried to remember. "Wayzz."

"Yeah, yeah, him. The drawings... I wanna learn to draw Pollen, but the only boy who'll teach me is... not... fond of me..." She trailed off, cleared her throat uncomfortably.

Rena and Chat automatically perked up with interest, but only Rena would voice it. "Why, what'd you do to him?"

"That’s not important Rena. What matters is that we help Bee get what she needs to improve herself," Carapace said, firmly.

Ladybug frowned at him with confusion but knew better than to question him. Chat immediately backed off. Queen Bee was relieved he was on her side.

"Oooh, now I'm interested! What's happening with you?" Rena's caramel eyes shone with a need for information.

"Rena we can’t talk about our personal lives. It’s not safe," Ladybug interrupted.

Rena knew when to back off. Being warned twice meant it wasn't worth any more. "Ugh, fine! You’re all so boring."

"Girls, not that this isn't important, but I have things to do in my other life in an hour or so, and I can't miss it. If you want my help today we gotta start training now," Chat said, pointedly.

"Geeze, everyone’s got such drama in their lives right now. I feel so left out," Rena chuckled.

Carapace just sighed. He loved Alya dearly, but he was certain that she was going to be the one who brought all of this down. The moment she figured out who Ladybug was, everything else would crumble. And the moment she figured out who he was, she would force an answer out of him.

"Have you been practicing catching people Bee?" Ladybug asked.

"Um, I've tried," she shrugged.

It was hard to practice catching people as Chloe, given no one trusted her to catch them.

"Alright, hold on a second," Ladybug turned to Carapace. "Carapace can I borrow your shield?"

"for a spring board?" He smiled knowingly.

"Please?" She smiled back.

"Sure thing LB," he grinned.

Ladybug looked back to Rena. "Can you catch Rena?"

Rena smirked. Her practice of choice included her siblings leaping from the top steps of the stairwell into her arms. Sometimes, to increase risk of injury, they did it at the same time.

"Alright, kitty-"

Chat held up a hand to cut Ladybug off mid-sentence. "I know, I know. Claws gotta sink together."

She frowned. "What?"

"Claws? Sink in?" He asked, his shoulders falling. "I'll work on that too. You want me to jump on Rena right?"

"I want you to let her catch you," Ladybug nodded.

"What do I do?" Carapace asked.

"You’re my spring board. Hold your shield like this, and hold tight," Ladybug smiled.

Carapace saluted with two fingers. Chat found Ladybug's leadership skills odd. Not that she wasn’t a good leader, but she treated everyone differently. He understood why she treated Carapace like she'd known him for years, because he was the only one who knew her identity as she knew his, he had the same relationship with the turtle. She still treated him like her partner, teasing him when she could, but she was a little distracted by their new students. He thought that maybe she was a little tough on Rena Rouge because she knew her, even if Rena didn’t know her back. That he could forgive and maybe even understand. But she was practically motherly to Queen Bee. When everyone got chastised for messing up (and he would scold her just as soon as she would scold him) she was always gentler with Bee. Maybe it was because she was the least practiced out of all of them and needed more help, but it seemed to be something more than that.   
Chat liked Rena. She was a good friend. He wouldn't refuse to help her. But Queen Bee was his responsibility. He brought her in, he should face the consequences of training her. Ladybug never let him.

"Ready?" Ladybug asked, nudging him.

"Come on, he’s a hero in a half shell, he’s always ready," Chat beamed.

"Ha, ha, never heard that one before," Carapace said sarcastically.

"Go deal with Rena Chat," Ladybug batted her hand as if to bat him away.

Chat's ears drooped. She never had time for him anymore. He should have been happy. Now not only did he have his school friends he had Rena and Ladybug too. He had all the friends he could ever want. But he ached for her company again. It had been fun at the start, the two of them on top of the Eiffel tower sharing akuma stories with Carapace, all three of them keenly aware that in one way or another they knew each other in their other life. Carapace didn't like the fighting, so he joined them once or twice every few weeks and checked up on their kwamis in between. He was fun.  
Rena was pun-tastic and fun to be around. She liked to tease and be teased, and she loved flirting, especially even it made people stammer like Marinette around him. And Bee was interesting to say the least. She couldn't control herself or her yo-yo and they kept having to fix windows to stop akumas from attacking. At least she was trying though. She was trying to be better as Bee, and he could see it coming through as Chloe. Last week, when he dropped his pencil, she picked it up and gave it back to him without being asked. Might sound like nothing, but Chloe had been known to break pencils and insult whoever dropped them, for fun.  
Chat loved his team. But he missed his partner.

That was only amplified when he watched her dash across the rooftop and drop kick against the shield to launch herself back towards where Bee hovered. For one heart stopping moment, Bee missed. Before panic could set in - like so many times before - she threw her yo-yo like a lasso and caught her. Bee beamed like the sun as she set Ladybug down safely on the rooftop. While Carapace, Ladybug and Queen Bee were cheering on the roof again, Chat smirked at Rena.

"I hope she doesn’t get sick," he said.

"Nah, it's just a bug," she retorted.

The two of them laughed for a moment, basking in the warmth of their friendship, before Chat cleared his throat and they had to be serious.

"Have you figured out your super jump yet? How high it can go, how many times you can use it-"

"No. There's not really much space to practice without hurting anyone besides the Eiffel tower y’know?"

"So use the Eiffel tower. Come on, race you!"

Ladybug watched Chat pole vault off of the roof, followed swiftly by the orange blur that would have been Rena. She frowned.

"Where are they off to?"

"I thought he tells you everything," Bee said.

"He does. Only sometimes he waits until it’s too late to stop him," Ladybug said.

"They're heading towards the tower. I've seen Rena practice her jumps on there sometimes. Maybe that’s what she's doing now," Bee explained.

"Maybe..." Ladybug trailed off, her gaze fixed on her friends in the distance.

"You ok LB?" Carapace asked.

"Yeah, it's nothing," She shrugged.

"You can tell us, we're partners right?" Bee asked.

A pang at that word made it all fall into place. As much as Marinette loved Adrien, he didn't love her back. And here was sweet, smart, kind, loyal, funny - sometimes - loving Chat Noir, whom she'd rejected time and time again for someone who didn't love her back. She loved him. Not as strongly as he loved her perhaps, but she loved him. And now they were so busy training eager young heroes that wanted to do everything from patrol to combat, that they never got any time alone anymore. Not even while fighting the akumas. Usually, when it was just the two of them, it would take ages and they'd have time to catch up in between fighting. But with four heroes (because Carapace would not be fighting unless he absolutely had to. Nino was a pacifist after all) things ended too quickly.

She missed him.

"So you can lasso pretty well huh? Let’s put it into practice with moving objects. Let’s go catch a cat!" Ladybug declared.

Carapace frowned, and Bee looked uncertain, but she was never going to argue with Ladybug. Especially because Ladybug had just grabbed her yo-yo and added, while swinging away:

"FIRST ONE TO CATCH HIM WINS!"

Bee beamed and buzzed off as fast as a bullet from a gun. Beeing the only one with wings, she could cut through the skyscrapers with ease on her own volition.  
Chat tripped on his tail as he dodges the yellow and black spinning blur that suddenly whirled past his face. Rena yelled in alarm as a similar red and black blur missed Chat and hit her, knocking her off her path and into a fire escape. Gasping, Carapace leapt onto his shell-like hover board shield and swooped down to catch Rena so she wouldn't get hurt. On the balcony of a building across the street, Chat was clinging on as he looked from Rena to the bugs above them.

"Seems like insect season is back," Rena muttered.

"These insects are getting feisty," Chat muttered.

"You wanted to win so bad you called in back up, you cheat!" Rena called across the street.

Chat reeled back with such offence he almost spilled over the side of the railings. "/Cheat?! Your best friend the Bee almost got my face!"

"Would have been an improvement!" Rena sneered.

Chat grumbled, dodging the yoyos being flung at him again. "Let's end this fox! First one there despite the bugs, wins!"

"You’re on KitKat!" Rena yelled back.

At the sudden movement of Rena flitting to the side to give herself a springboard to jump from, Ladybug threw her yoyo at her. Rena was a little too quick. Bee laughed as Ladybug missed.

"Ladybug! It's first to the cat that win, not the fox!" Bee yelled.

"Calm down stripes, I'm still gonna beat you!" Ladybug called.

Carapace watched as the bugs fought the mammals and the mammals raced to the tower. Their laughter echoed up around him as they dashed after Chat. He wondered if they were ever going to see themselves for what they were. Kids in pursuit of fun, hidden behind masks of responsibility. Without the masks there were just kids. Scared kids.

In the back of his mind Wayzz tried to reason with him. "Listen to them laugh Monsieur Nino. They know they're responsible for Paris, but how many of them had a regular childhood without the mask?"

"All of us. Except Adrien, obviously," Carapace shrugged.

"All of you?" Wayzz repeated pointedly. Nino frowned uncertainly. Wayzz continued, his voice gentle, but inarguable. "Chloe's mother walked out on her. Her father spends more time busy being mayor than looking after her. She's never had to try. Never had to be liked. Never had to work for anything. Until Pollen."

"Maybe this'll do her some good then," Nino muttered.

"And Marinette?"

"Her parents are kind. They love each other. They love her. She's fine."

"She was bullied by Chloe so badly that until she became friends with Alya she had no confidence. It was only then, when Alya was in danger, that she could become Ladybug. Ladybug can stand up for herself, and so can Marinette. Yet she still can’t talk to Adrien."

Carapace's head sank slightly. It dawned on him then that maybe he didn't know everything he thought he did. Or he wasn’t good at putting the pieces he did know together.

"And Alya?" He asked softly.

"Alya came with no friends and two sisters she often has to babysit because her mother and father have time demanding jobs. Between their work and her school work she rarely sees them. For a while the lady blog was the only thing that would gain her any appreciation. Now she's being rewarded for it," Wayzz explained.

Chat was just about to link onto the bars of the tower seconds ahead of Rena, when a think wire squeezed him from the middle and yanked him back. Bee squealed with delight and Rena hung from the edge of the Eiffel Tower like an orange and white flag. The old heroes were watching the new heroes celebrate beating them, and they looked to each other uncertainly. Their trainees had beaten them. They should feel proud.

But they felt more distant than ever.


	3. Chapter 3

Chloe threw her covers back with an over dramatic sigh, "It's no use, I can’t sleep!"

Pollen whined, curling in on herself on top of her pink silk cushion and screwing her eyes shut. "Oh come on Chloe you know I'm a bed bug! Let me sleep!"

Chole flung her legs off the edge of the bed and stood up, "Sleep, I don't care. I'm gonna go for a walk."

Now Pollen sat up. "A walk? Is that safe?"

"Please, like I’d ever put myself in danger, "Chloe scoffed. "Chat Noir is on patrol tonight."

"Do you trust him?"

Chloe wanted to scoff again and tell her little bee friend that of course she trusted him, why wouldn’t she, he was a hero of Paris and he had chosen her to fight alongside him. But she couldn’t. Because deep down, without fully knowing why, Chloe didn’t think she could trust any of them. Pollen frowned.

"He’s your partner, why don't you trust him?" She asked.

"Why do you think I can’t sleep?!" Chloe huffed.

Pollen sighed. Chloe would be ratty in the morning if she didn’t sleep, and that wouldn't help anyone. "I'll walk with you if you want."

"You're sleeping," she spat.

Pollen huffed back. "Well if you don’t want me-"

"No. Come. I don't..." Chloe's shoulders sagged as she didn’t know how to explain why she wanted her kwami there, but she really did. "It might be dangerous."

"I'll come, just to protect you," Pollen smirked.

"Oh please, you're far too little for that!" Chloe said, but there was pleasure in her tone.

"I may be small, but I hold the power of the Gods," Pollen declared.

It was hard to argue with that.

Chloe pulled her coat on over her Ladybug themes pyjamas and headed into the living room. Yellow light came streaming in through the large glass doors to the balcony. Someone had forgotten to shut the curtains and the Eiffel Tower was taking advantage. Chloe wandered over to shut them when something caught her eye. She looked properly this time, raising her hand to shield from the glare of the light. She recognised that orange and white dot instantly.

"Looks like Rena can't sleep either," she said thoughtfully.

"Wanna go talk to her? Talk about what to do about Nathan?" Pollen asked.

"Nathanael," Chloe corrected, missing pollen's little smirk. "She's probably practicing her jump."

"So? Be nice. Go help," Pollen encouraged.

"How?" Chloe asked.

"All you have to do is say those two little words!" Pollen beamed.

...

"Rena?"

Rena gasped at the sudden voice behind her and almost lost her footing. Bee dashed forward to steady her. Rena turned once she had her grip back and flashed her a smile despite her thundering heart.

"Oh hey Bee. You just missed Chat. He's probably home by now," she smiled.

"Oh. I saw you were here, I thought I'd come to keep you company,"

Bee shrugged.

"That’s nice of you," Rena grinned as she added, "I think I've got it down now, look!"

Rena didn't want to see if she wanted to watch her practice or not. She was far too proud of how well she could control her jump now. Bee watched her practice her super jump by leaping from by her side to twelve feet above her heads. Bee had to admit it was impressive, but Bee had wings. She could fly that high anyway. Which was useful when Rena botched the landing and Bee had to fly up to catch her. The new weight shoved her downwards and she had to throw up her yo-yo to support both of them.

Dangling from Bee's arm like the kitten in the "hang in there" poster, Rena wore the biggest proudest grin she had ever worn before.

"Thanks!"

"Very good," was all Bee could think to say and for a moment it looked like Rena was going to yell at her for it, but Rena's face softened as she looked at her.

"You ok Bee? What are you doing up so late?"

she asked.

Bee shrugged, automatically moving her arm to wrap around her stomach, self consciously. "I couldn't sleep."

"Something on your mind?"

"Yeah..."

Bee trailed off, sinking in the air until she ended up sitting on the cold metal. Rena waited silently for Bee to get the courage to explain. She had enough experience dealing with marinette to know rushing her would get them no where.

"Rena, what would you do if you needed to... apologise, for something that was... not good?"

"That depends on who I was apologising to. If I wasn’t sorry I wouldn't apologise," she shrugged.

Bee looked down at her feet as they dangled far higher than any toursist could ever get to. "I think I'm sorry."

"You would know if you were sorry because you'd feel super guilty and admitting what you'd done would hurt," Rena explained.

Alya had plenty of experience in having to apologise for her actions. Especially when those actions were abandoning her friends - namely Nino - in order to set up video cameras around Paris with Ladybug, so they could get constant footage of akuma attacks for the Lady blog and no one would suspect her. She wasn't aware that Nino knew the truth.

"I need to apologise so he'll help me," Bee sighed.

"Well that's more for personal gain than because you're sorry. It's Kinda a cruel trick," Rena warned.

"Your power is to trick people. Your kwami is call Trixx," Bee countered.

"I'm not the one apologising for my own gain," Rena pointed out.

Again Bee sighed. "Everything I do is for my own gain. Becoming a better person is only so I can keep my miraculous! If I don’t they'll take pollen away."

Now Rena sat up sharply and took attention. "They'll take your kwami?!"

"I've not exactly done anything worthy of keeping her. As myself I've helped Hawkmoth so many times and caused so many akumas I'm pretty sure he sent me a valentine’s day card last year," Bee explained dejectedly.

"Wow."

"I don't want to lose Pollen Rena... I don’t want to lose the only person who ever considered me a friend without being bullied or bribed into it..."

Rena looked over at Bee. She had her head hung low watching her feet swing miserably above the city skyline. Her hair tumbled over her shoulder like it'd fallen from its rolls, and bags were forming under her eyes. Bee always seemed to buzz with energy, a little nervous at times, a little sharp at others, but energetic anyway.

Rena looked out over the city. Everything was so much smaller from up here. She spoke to Paris, rather than Queen Bee. Bee too spoke to the skyline rather than the girl beside her.

"They took Trixx away from me once."

"Is that what took you so long to return?"

"Yeah. I can’t tell you how jealous I was of Carapace when he first arrived. He got to keep his miraculous and I didn’t. I was furious," Rena chuckled.

The anger and jealously had faded away when Trixx was returned to her, and now she spent weekends training with him and the others, she couldn't remember how to hate him. He was too kind and funny and smart. Too much like an old friend...

"you've got him back now. What happened?" Bee asked.

"I think you did," Rena said, finally turning to look at her. "Almost as soon as you were allowed to keep Pollen, my necklace appeared again. I told Ladybug I wouldn't give him up again. She must have decided it was safe. But I know the pain of losing your kwami. It hurts more than anything I've ever felt before. I don’t want you to feel that."

"Will you help me?"

"Sure. That’s what friends are for right?"

Bee looked up at her in surprised. With nothing but the yellow bulbs either side of them to light their company, her eyes were bluer than ever, but reflecting with stars. Had any part of Alya suspected Chloe of being Queen Bee, it would have vanished then. There was too much hope and innocence in these eyes to be the girl she had written off as a selfish bully in her mind. There was too much hero to be such a villian.

"We're friends?!" Bee gasped.

"Aren’t we?" Rena smirked.

Bee beamed. "Yeah! Yeah we're friends!"

"Then sure I'll help you!" Rena laughed. "Now, this guy of yours, what does he like?"

The beam that had lit up Bee's face with joy instantly vanished. She had no idea what Nathaneal liked, just what she could manipulate him with.

"Um, drawing I guess. He's always doodling himself as a hero with his crush," she shrugged.

"Like a comic?" Rena asked eagerly.

"I dunno, I guess? I've never seen any of that nerdy junk," Bee shrugged again.

"Well you’re in luck because when it comes to nerdy junk, I'm an expert!" Rena beamed.

She looked so eager Bee was almost certain she saw the tail of her outfit wag, although it may have been the wind. It was breezy this high up.

"Oh, he was the Evillustrator! Maybe Ladybug can shed some light on what he likes. Or at least what he doesn’t. Other than me anyway," Bee said.

Rena hummed dubiously. "You really think she'll remember every akuma? She's thought so many, and she was barely in that." She gasped suddenly as she remembered what she had spent so long building before Trixx entered her life. "Maybe you should check the Lady blog. The girl who runs it interviews everyone who got akumatized. He might have got interviewed too!"

A chill ran down Chloe's spine at the meer thought of talking to Alya about anything. Alya wasn't exactly her number one fan. Chloe was fairly certian Alya wouldn't help her if her life depended on it, and honestly, she would be too proud to ask. Not that she could let Rena know that.

She didn't want Rena to be put off by her rejecting her ideas though. Carapace had warned her about that before, and so had Adrien. So she cleared her throat and said, unenthusiastically, "Right. That's an idea."

Alya had to log out of everything to avoid Bee realising who she was. She didn't want Bee to worry about her revealing everything on her blog, because she absolutely wouldnt ever do that. Carapace had already told her not to, as had Ladybug. Now, with everything hidden away and no chance of her being discovered, she held out her phone and her blog to her partner.

"Search his name maybe theres an interview or something," She said.

Bee took the phone and scrolled down, stopping suddenly. "Whats this?"

Rena leaned over to look. "A photo of the others. Must be from before you and I joined them "

"Look at this."

"I know, it's such a nice photo."

"No, look at _this_!"

Bee held up the picture, zoomed in on one face.

Rena gave her a baffled look back. "It's Ladybug. What about her?"

"Look at the way she's looking at Chat. We all know he likes her, but do you think she might like him back?" she asked.

"It seems feasible. But she barely talks to him when we're - oh... she barely gets to talk to him when we're around. And we beat them this morning. Maybe we embarrassed them," Rena said uncertainly.

"I don't think so. I barely beat him, he was avoiding Ladybug so much he forgot about me," Bee shrugged.

A sly smile curled across Renas face. "Ive got an idea."

"What is it?" Bee asked.

"If you want to bee - with two e's - a good person you've got to help people, right?"

"Get to the point Rouge!"

"Help me help them to help you!"

"What?"

"Help me get those two idiots to see that they like each other, and you'll make all three of us feel happy, which will score you good person points!" Rena beamed eagerly.

Bee was less convinced. "I just wanted Nathanael to teach me how to draw Pollen."

"Ok, if I help you make things up to Nathanael, will you help me?" Rena asked.

Bee thought for a moment before nodding, "That seems fair..."

"Alright!" Rena leapt to her feet and scooped up Bee, which took her by such surprise that she didnt even try to push her away. "Next stop, Nathanael’s house!"

...

Chloe immediately regretted listening to Rena. Now she was standing in her classmates bedroom, surrounded by drawings and sketches and things that she couldn't bring herself to look at without feeling guilty. She was apologising so she could learn to draw like him. It wasn't true or honest, and it wasnt what Ladybug would do.

It wasnt what Ladybug would do.

That sentence was ringing in her head from the moment she thought it. She turned around and headed back towards the window to escape before he woke up. A lamp flicked on by the bed and a timid voice called out towards the shadows she stood in.

"W-who’s there?"

Too late to escape. She'd just have to go with it now and deal with the fall out later. Pollen was going to lecture the hell out of her. But that could wait. Right now she had to step out of the shadows and pretend her heart wasn't beating so fast she could hear it.

"Queen Bee."

"Queen Bee?!" He gasped, yanking his blanket up across his chest to hide himself. "Wh-what are you d-doing in my room?"

"Uhm-" it really was too late to escape now but she looked longingly towards the window regardless. "Do you know Chloe bourgeois?"

"Unfortunately," he grumbled.

She scowled. "That's rude."

"You don’t know her," he shrugged.

"Actually I know her pretty well!" she said, sharply.

Nathaneal felt a spark of guilt and worry. If Bee told Chloe he was rude about her she would undoubtedly make his life a living hell. More than usual anyway. Still he pressed on, too tired to think of anything that complicated right now.

"I'm confused, why are you here?"

"Um... Chloe sent me. She says you like heroes."

"I like comic books... heroes always get the girl in comic books," he said, looking longingly towards the sketches of Marinette on his desk.

"You want a girlfriend?" Bee asked.

Nathaneal ignired the question, "Did Chloe send you to pick on me?"

"What? No!" she cried indignantly.

"Then why-"

"Look Kurtzberg, Chloe sent me because you like heroes. She wants you to know she's really sorry about everything she's done to you, and-" her sharpness broke off as she found a drawing of their class on a recent feild trip. Her heart ached to see she wasnt featured when Marinette was front and centre, with each daisy petal around her neck lovingly detailed. She picked it up. "what’s this?"

"A drawing of my class on our field trip," he said.

"Did you draw it?"

"Who else would?"

"Chloe isn’t in it."

"Chloe didn’t look flattering. I like to draw pretty things and as pretty as Chloe is, her personality ruins it."

"You think I’m - she’s pretty?" Bees tone changed.

Behind his blush, Nathaneal changed the subject. "Why are you here?!"

"I told you! I'm here to apologise on Chloe's behalf! You like heroes, she thought you’d like to meet one, but if you're gonna be this grumpy, I'll just leave!" she huffed.

She headed for the window when he called her back.

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Tell Chloe if she's sorry she should prove it by saying it herself. That way I'd be more likely to believe you," he declared.

"You don't believe me?" she frowned.

"Chloe Bourgeois has never apologised to anyone in her life. I'd sooner believe you were Chloe than Chloe was sorry," he said, sharply.

She scowled and opened her mouth to insult him, but there was a little voice at the back of her head reminding her why she was here. Pollen. Chloe's grip on the drawing of the feild trip tightened as she focused on the window again. She wasn't going to hang around where she wasnt welcome. This had been a mistake. That much was obvious. Rena was busy thinking about how to get what she wanted, rather than how this would affect Nathaneal.

Queen Bee couldn't be harsh on him.

This was her fault. Her problem.

She was angry at herself.

Even so her voice was hard as she muttered, "Go to sleep Nathanael."

He watched her climb out of the window and flutter away before whispering to the empty room, "Goodnight Queen Bee."

Rena grinned eagerly at her friend as she fluttered down to the ground again. "Did it work?"

"He's such a jerk!" Bee huffed.

"I'll take that as a no," Renas shoulders fell.

"Who does he think he is?!" Bee continued.

"Hey, don't give up! There's more than one way to skin Chat," Rena urged.

"I just-" Bee was ready to start a fight and break something that would cause an akuma, but she couldnt. For Pollens sake she couldnt. She scowled at the ground and spat, "I'm tired now. I think it’s time for bed."

Rena tried to stop her but it was useless. Instead she called up to the sky, "Don’t give up Bee! I bee-lieve in you!"

It didnt help.

...

"You got something to say to me?"

Chloe raised her eyes but not her head, to see Nathaneal standing over her. The snarl came from the back of her throat, and was laced with the impaitence of a tired headache.

"Look who grew a spine."

"You'd be surprised what can happen when you miss out on sleep because a massive bee comes in through your window!"

he snarled back.

Her voice grew harder. "Queen Bee is a wonderful hero-"

"She’s a liar. She said you’re sorry!" He spat.

She leapt to her feet, thumping her desk, and shouted, "QUEEN BEE IS NOT A LIAR!"

In the rush of anger and the embarrassment of everyone in the class turning to stare at them, their usual roles returned. Nathaneal stumbled backwards, nervous and uncertain, while she glared at him, exhausted and furious. He expected pain. Pollen tugged gently on her shirt. It was a warning worth heading. Chloe's grip on the edge of her desk loosened momentarily and she fell back into her seat, expecting him to run away like a mouse from a cat. Grateful to be alive.

But he didnt move.

His voice was more mouse like, but this time he didnt scurry away. "S-so... so you are sorry?"

"YES!" She rolled her eyes impaitently.

Behind her she heard Ivan grunt in disbelief, and to her left Marinette muttered something about Chloe being after something she was never going to get. Her attitude was wrong. This was wrong. Chloe had to let go of the anger.

She sighed, raised her head to meet his eye, and tried again, with more genuine regret in her voice. "Yes... I'm sorry Nathanael. I've been a bitch to you and I'm sorry for it."

He frowned. "Why should I believe you?"

"I don’t know, and I don't care. I know I'm sorry. Doesn't matter if you forgive me or not, I'll still be sorry," she shrugged.

"You will?" He asked, uncertianly.

"What'd you care?" She sighed.

There was a long pause as she slumped back in her seat, resigning herself to the fact that if she wanted to learn to draw, she'd have to fo it online. Then, quietly, she heard him say something she hadnt been expecting.

"Thank you."

She looked up, baffled. "What for?"

He shrugged, his cheeks turning red. "For apologising."

Chloe's mouth fell open. She stared at him as he hurried away to his seat, before turning back to the front of the classroom to gape at what had just happened. She didnt understand it. She didnt even pretend to.

Pollen, however, sat up in her hip bag and beamed proudly. "That went well! You've really got this!"

"He didn’t forgive me..." Chloe said, bewildered.

"But you said sorry. That’s the first step taken," Pollen smiled.

Chloe didnt quite frown, but she didnt smile. "But he didn’t-"

Pollen cut her off by placing a hand on her arm. "You've got to take this slow honey. It's a healing process. Take your time about it. Don't rush. This was a good first step. Focus on that."

Pollen dove back down into the safety of the bag as Sabrina took her seat. Chloe barely registered the greeting her friend gave her, but Sabrina was used to being ignored by her friend in the mornings. After a moment or two Chloe realised she hadn't said anything to Sabrina yet, so she should try saying something nice to her.

After all, if anyone deserved to hesr something nice from Chloe, it was Sabrina.

"Sabrina?"

"Yeah Chloe?"

"I like your shirt."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, it’s really... cute."

Sabrina positively lit up like the sun had just come through a cloud to hit her face. "Really?! Oh my God thank you Chloe! I thought it might be a little too bright, so I tried to get it in a darker shade, but they didn’t have one, so I was like oh no what do I do but then I thought wait! I’ve got connections! So I went online and-"

For the first time in a long time Chloe listened to her friend. She rambled on about her shirt, letting it leak into other stories, but Chloe didn't stop her. The smile growing on Sabrina's face made Chloe feel better about the Nathanael situation.

So what if he didn’t forgive her? There were other people she could be nice to! She didn't need him. _Rena_ _Rouge_ believed in her. Speaking of, she was going to have to tell that fox that whatever she had planned, Bee was in.


End file.
